The Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) has issued a tender for the development of 160 MW of solar-wind hybrid power project with battery energy storage system (BESS) at Ramagiri, located in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh.

The scope of work includes the design, engineering, supply, construction, installation, testing, and commissioning of the projects. Apart from these, the successful bidder will also be responsible for 10 years of operations and maintenance (O&M) services.

The project is being developed under the ‘Innovation in Solar Power and Hybrid Technologies Project’ and SECI has applied for financing from the World Bank. A part of the grant will go towards the Ramagiri project.

Pre-bid meeting will take place on August 31, 2018 and last date for bid submission is October 1, 2018.

Of late, hybrid tenders as well as tenders coupled with BESS component have gained traction in the country.

Previously, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) tendered 2.5 GW of interstate transmission system (ISTS)-connected wind and solar hybrid projects to be developed across the country.

Earlier, SECI also issued a tender for the development of two 1.5 MW (AC) solar power projects with BESS at Tangtse and Durbuk in Leh district of Jammu & Kashmir.

Recently, the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) gave a grant to the IL&FS Energy Development Company Limited (IEDCL) for the development of a 41 MW hybrid wind, solar, and energy storage power project in Andhra Pradesh.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) recently announced a new wind-solar hybrid policy that aims to provide a framework for the expansion of grid-connected wind-solar hybrid systems in the country. The ministry later amended the policy to remove the word ‘battery’ from the relevant clauses in order to broaden the definition of the term “storage” and facilitate the growth of the sector. In its notification, the ministry said that it realizes that initially the word ‘storage’ was defined only in terms of battery storage, which restricted other forms of storage such as pumped hydro, compressed air, and flywheel.